It’s been nearly a year since former Dozier Police Chief Terry Mears resigned his position, but Sheriff Charles West presented a solution to the council on Monday.

West and Investigator Mike Johnson proposed hiring a new deputy to cover the Dozier area and serve papers in South Crenshaw County.

West said that he hoped to pay a $34,000-$35,000 a year salary for the deputy, and he hoped that the town and the housing authority would contribute at least $12,000 each to the salary.

Mayor Buddy Dean said the town needs someone around due to the bank and other businesses located in the town.

“Right now we are without any protection,” he said. “I understand now that you might be in North Crenshaw when we need you.”

Community member Jan Cook voiced her concerns about entering into a contract this close to the election.

“How do we know the next sheriff and the next commission will be for this,” she asked.

“The next sheriff would be a fool not to do this,” West said. “We need the man power.”

Cook said she was concerned that the officer might be one of the first things to be cut if the county commission needs to cutback.

Cook suggested that the town crunch some numbers to see how much it would cost for them to hire their own police officer.

“We haven’t really crunched the numbers,” Dean said.